Real Life Roleplaying
by Ixaix
Summary: A Homestuck AU in which the reader follows the life of college freshman Nepeta as she matures and learns to deal with her insecurities that lead her to only be able to truly express herself through creative writing and roleplay. The author promises that it's actually much cooler than the summary makes it sound.
1. Meet Nepeta, Terezi and Vriska

_She was afraid._

_Standing at the precipice of the gaping chasm, she clutched her sword closer to her chest. Taking a deep, shuddering breath she closed her eyes and stepped out into empty air..._

"Nepeta! We're going to be late!"

Slamming her notebook closed, the dark-haired girl leapt to her feet and nearly tripped over the legs of her chair as she scrambled to snag her messenger bag from where it lay on her bed. "Coming!" She called back, shoving the notebook deep into the main pocket.

"It's sad when a blind girl has a better sense of time than someone less visually impaired." Terezi joked, giving her new roommate a toothy smile. "What was so important that you'd risk missing orientation?"

"N-Nothing." Nepeta stuttered, automatically checking to make sure the flap of her bag was securely in place. "Aren't we late?"

"In the courtroom that would be known as avoiding the line of questioning." Terezi Pyrope was attending the college on a special scholarship; she had almost single-handedly taken her high school's Mock Trial team to nationals three years in a row. Several big budget law firms were already appealing to her to work for them while she completed her Juris Doctorate in a few years.

As she and Nepeta exited their small apartment another familiar voice echoed down the hallway.

"Leijon! Pyrope!"

"Oh, good, it's The Bitch." Terezi muttered under her breath as Nepeta turned to see a voluptuous girl approaching, her long mane of rich black hair tossed over one shoulder in a carelessly perfect fashion.

Wincing at Terezi's nickname for the other, Nepeta offered Vriska a tentative smile. Tall, slender and curvy in all the right places, she was also rich enough to afford her own place- which according to rumor was a good thing since she couldn't be trusted as a roommate. Personally, Nepeta suspected that Vriska acted arrogant because of her mother, a well-known socialite with a penchant for alcohol and violent acts while under the influence. Supposedly Vriska was almost blind in her left eye as a side-effect of one of her mother's episodes. Terezi's dislike of her stemmed from Vriska's tendency to think of herself as above the rules, to which Terezi adhered with an almost rabid tenacity.

While Terezi and Vriska exchanged scathing greetings of mutual irritation, Nepeta felt her mind drifting.

_She stepped out into the empty air, leaving her stomach behind and her heart in her mouth as she plummeted. The sword rang out in its crystalline voice and all around her gathered winged beings, twining their long bodies around her arms and legs... Yet instead of slowing her decent they instead increased it, hurtling her along at impossible speeds..._

"H-e-ll-o?"

She blinked a few times as Vriska's hand waved in front of her face.

"Stop spacing out. Weirdo." The blue blood frowned.

"Be nice to my roommate, Bitch."

With the argument brewing over her head, Nepeta couldn't help feeling some sense of trepidation that this was how her first day of "grown up" life was starting...

* * *

Authors Note: Hey! This is Ixaix, a long time fanfiction writer who is just now returning to the official, publishing my works for others to read stage of things. I appreciate all of you who have suffered through long enough to get to this part!

As you can tell, this is an AU version of Homestuck. Yeah, another one. It's going to mainly focus on the trolls; I haven't decided if the kids will show up or not. It's told from Nepeta's point of view, since she's an interesting character to me. They won't use their typing quirks when talking out loud, since real life people don't do that, but they may when it comes to texting or instant messaging; I haven't decided yet.

So, like it or hate it, please leave me a comment! Constructive criticism is always encouraged on my end of things!

~Ixaix


	2. Meet Equius, Gamzee and Tavros

_Drawing the sword, she braced for the impact... that never came. Slowly she opened her eyes to find herself standing above a glowing lake of pale blue light, toes barely touching the surface. The creatures gathered around her, chirping softly as if to encourage her forward. Hesitantly she took a step..._

Nepeta looked up as someone ruffled her hair, instinctively covering her notebook with her arm.

"Oh, hey, Equius." She breathed a slight sigh of relief, grinning up at her old friend. Nepeta had first met Equius Zahhak at a summer camp where they both competed in archery and horseback riding. Nepeta was interested in the fields because they seemed like something straight out of Tolkien; Equius was seeking out new physical challenges. A friendship had formed between them and somehow survived the turmoils of high school where he became the star quarterback and she remained the mousey wallflower of a nerd.

"What are you studying so intently?" He sat across from her, setting his glass of milk perilously close to the open notebook. She scooted it to the side even though she was quickly returning her book to her bag.

"Just... reviewing notes." Even Equius didn't know-couldn't know-about her writing. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a blonde stranger casually slumped into the seat beside her.

"Woah, woah, easy, little motherfucker." The stranger gave her a decidedly stoned grin... that didn't match with the sharp gleam in his eyes. Nepeta felt herself tensing slightly; Gamzee Makara was infamous. His father was rich; on paper as a banker, in reality as one of the largest drug lords the FBI could never pin anything on. It was one of those things that sounded like a bad movie premise until you remembered most bad movie premises were based in real life. While his son acted out the persona of a stoner, Gamzee's mental capacities were far from impaired. Getting on his bad side had sent people to the hospital, though always through an "accident" of some manner. He also had an unnatural fascination with clowns that bordered on the terrifying where in small children it could almost be adorable...almost. "Hey~ You're actually kinda cute."

While Nepeta was busy mentally stuttering and stammering another young man approached, scooting his wheelchair into place on Gamzee's other side. "Be, uhh, nice, bro. You're scaring her."

Nepeta shot Tavros a grateful smile, which he returned with a wink. Tavros Nitram, like her, harbored a secret passion that helped to make them instant friends. While Nepeta hid her love of fantasy and roleplaying, Tavros hid his fascination with theater and stage production. He and Nepeta both had Professor Rose Lalonde for creative writing, something they kept on the down-low from their friends.

"Tavros, this is my friend Equius." She introduced, seeing they didn't already know one another. "He's studying mechanics and computer science."

"Oh! Uhh, really?" Tavros said, eyes gleaming. "How are you at, uhh, video games? Me and Gamzee are looking for a, uhh, third player for some of our co-ops!"

"Yeah~" Gamzee slurred, grinning lazily.

A small chime came from Nepeta's bag; she dove for her phone, yanking it out in a clatter of the charms attached. Her eyes widened as she saw the time.

"Sorry, I gotta run! I'm going to be late!" She apologized; oh, boy. Hopefully this wasn't going to be a consistent theme for her college life...

* * *

Author's Note: These opening chapters are intentionally short as they're just introductions to the characters. Once the stage has been set it'll be easier to write freely and thus produce longer chapters.

As always, please leave a comment if you've read this far!


	3. Meet Sollux, Feferi and Eridan

_Walking across the strange luminescence was like wading through quicksand. Each step took her full concentration, the light seeming to suck at her boots as if apprehensive of allowing her to continue her journey. If not for the insistent whispers of the sword in her hand and the supportive chiming of her ethereal guides, she might have given up. Yet they marshaled her onward until on the horizon she saw some strange architecture rising from the shimmering mists..._

The sound of flirtatious giggling pulled Nepeta from her trance-like state of mind. Glancing up from where she sat in the corner of the library she was greeted with a quickly becoming familiar sight.

She had always found it amazing how much people said when they didn't think anyone else was listening. Early on in her life Nepeta had learned to sit quietly and simply absorb the conversations occurring around her. It served as an effective defense mechanism, allowing the smaller girl to avoid numerous perilous situations as she maneuvered the complicated social morays of primary education. Equius often utilized her strange skill to his advantage when approaching a romantic interest for the first time.

That was how Nepeta found herself privy to many secrets people often didn't realize they had said out loud. Such as the scene playing out before her now.

The first actor in the mini-play was Sollux Captor. Tall, dark and handsome, he was a legitimate genius with an I.Q. rating of over two hundred-Sollux's main gift was with computers, specifically writing programs and software. Some rumors said he was also an elite hacker, but no one had ever been able to prove anything. He had been in an accident when he was younger that left him permanently semi-blind and with a lisp, but that didn't seem to affect his standing with girls.

Speaking of. The source of the giggling was the elegant Feferi Peixes, easily the richest girl in the Western Hemisphere. She was heiress to the world's largest company, though exactly what that company did was a mystery to Nepeta who had stopped understanding after the words "multinational conglomerate". Despite her elevated status, Nepeta had found her to be relatively nice, if somewhat ditzy and bubbly. At the moment she was engaged in rather obvious flirting with Sollux, much to the dislike of the third and final member of the party.

Eridan Ampora was taller than Sollux, but his height translated into lankiness as opposed to the other male's litheness. A self-proclaimed "neo-hipster", he came across as arrogant and rude on a level that almost equaled Vriska's. Yet, like her, he did it to hide his true emotions from the rest of the world. Nepeta had accidentally overheard a call between Eridan and his absentee father... Just the snippet she heard was enough to bring tears to her eyes. Feferi and Eridan had been close friends since they were children and it showed in their actions towards one another. However, Nepeta was confident that Eridan wanted more while Feferi seemed content to stay just as they were.

Watching the trio now, Nepeta found herself relieved that she was no good at flirting... or talking to boys in general. Or... people...

_As the odd building loomed closer, the beings about her began to become agitated and their voices more distinct. Words formed out of their incoherent chattering..._

'_...dwells... slumbering... prince...'_

_She turned to ask them what they meant only to-_

"Hey, Nepeta! Uhh, you okay?"

Nepeta blinked and found Tavros staring at her, a slightly concerned look on his face. Okay, she had to be more careful about the spacing out in the future.

"I'm fine, Tavros." She reassured him with a gentle smile. "What's up?"

"Oh! Uhh, well, Gamzee poured Faygo over my notes from class..."

She laughed and nodded, pulling out the appropriate binder. "Equius has done that to me a bunch of times. You learn to develop a sixth sense about when to move anything not waterproof..."

Distracted by Tavros, she missed entirely when Eridan glanced over at her... and then glanced again.

* * *

Author's Note: I know that these first four chapters are pretty boring, but if you stick with me I promise it'll be worth it! ...I hope. Introducing all the trolls seems important because I know that if I didn't at least forty people would angrily demand why I haven't included their favorite one. Besides, I like developing all of them as humans and they all will show up eventually.

As for a quick note on Nepeta's personality, she's coming across as rather weak at the moment, but wait for her to flesh out a bit before chomping on the bit, if you please. There hasn't been time to develop her too much yet, after all. I love her character far too much to let her remain this seemingly fragile, two-dimensional character.

As per the usual, if you've read this far please leave a comment! Thanks and I'll see you in the next chapter!


	4. Meet Kanaya, Aradia and Karkat

_She turned to ask the beings what they meant by their strange words only to find herself alone on the sandy shore. Behind her the sea of light receded and warped until the strange castle and she were alone on an island of darkness. When she shivered the sword rang out in a clear command; she had to keep going. There was no turning back now._

"You are always so studious when I see you, Nepeta. No wonder you won the school's highest scholarship."

Kanaya Maryam pulled out a chair to sit next to the other girl, offering her a warm smile in greeting. Nepeta returned it happily; Kanaya radiated a sense of collected calm that it normally took being a mother to gain. It made sense that she was pursuing a career as an obstetrician, though her secondary love of clothing design had brought her to be in the same Drawing One class as Nepeta.

"It's not really studying, just... random writing." Nepeta said almost-honestly, closing her notebook in favor of her sketchbook. "Nothing as amazing as what you keep calling doodles."

"Come now. You're not so bad yourself." Kanaya tapped her shoulder in light reprimand, which made Nepeta giggle softly. Apparently the older girl had decided to adopt her as a younger sister... Which made Nepeta infinitely happy. She was an only child and had never known what it was like to have a sibling to look after and be looked after by. The closest she got was Equius, but a brother was way different than a sister. "Stop talking down about yourself, Nepeta."

"She does have a bad habit of that, doesn't she?" Aradia took a seat at Nepeta's other side, making Nepeta jump slightly. She hadn't heard the other girl approaching...

Of all the current freshman, Aradia was the one Nepeta knew the least about, much to Equius' disappointment. The simple fact was that no one knew anything about her and Aradia wasn't especially interested in correcting that deficit. Still, Nepeta liked her; Aradia was creative and unique and... well, an outsider. Like her.

"All of you calm down." The lazy voice of their art teacher, Professor Dirk Strider, worked its way through the collective chatter of the classroom and effectively silenced it.

He slouched to the front of the room, looking out over the assembled students with a raised eyebrow. Seeming to need a moment to collect the energy to speak, Professor Strider opened his mouth-

Only to be interrupted when the door flew open an a flustered male student rushed in, holding his partially opened backpack close to his chest. "Fuck, sorry! Some jackass ran into me on his bike and didn't even stop to help..."

Nepeta could feel her cheeks warming slightly as she quickly averted her gaze. Karkat Vantas... He seemed eternally angry at life in general, cranky and cantankerous; yet in him was a natural sense of leadership. It attracted people to him despite his attitude which seemed to serve only to annoy him further. For Nepeta it had been crush-at-first-sight, her heart skipping a beat when his dark-rimmed eyes met hers for that brief second...

Eridan, who firmly held to the fact that he was in the class only for a fine arts credit and not because he was inclined towards any sort of artistic pursuits, noticed the faint flush of Nepeta's cheeks... as did Kanaya, who smiled softly.

* * *

Author's Note: And with that all the trolls are introduced! Are you excited? I am! MWA HA HA HA HA. After this the story really begins and all of you who have stuck with me this far deserve some candy. Here ya go.

Also, I really hope this chapter makes sense, I wrote it on very little sleep due to cosplay shenanigans for two straight days.

As always, if you've read this far please leave me a comment!


	5. Kittens, Miracles and Pounce de Leon

_She strode to the massive double gates that barred her further progress, staring up at them in horror. The wrought iron bars were held in place by multiple clawed hands, screaming skulls glaring down at her with burning eyes. Tearing her gaze away, she searched for a keyhole, something to allow her access. The sword in her hands rang out, tugging at her arms. She held it out before her; it began to glow, sending out tendrils of light that reached up towards the gates. Before them the bars seemed to waver and falter, the talons withdrawing and the hellfire eyes dulling..._

Nepeta smiled down at the kitten in her hands, stroking his fur reassuringly. "Don't worry, little guy. This is going to make you feel better."

The vet slipped the needle under the feline's skin and injected the vaccination. Once the needle was removed the kitten blinked... and sneezed. Nepeta laughed, bending to nuzzle his head. "Good boy."

She handed the kitten back to his owner, a little boy with big blue eyes. He hugged the kitten close, looking up at Nepeta worriedly. "Is Snowy gonna be okay?"

"Snowy is going to be fine. That shot was to keep him happy and healthy and able to play with you." Nepeta reassured, ruffling his hair. "He's very brave, just like you are. I can't believe you stayed in the examining room to be close to him."

"We're both brave." He nodded solemnly. His mother gave Nepeta a thankful smile as they left to schedule the next round of vaccinations.

The vet handed her the empty syringe. "You're an excellent assistant, Miss Leijon, and one day you'll make an excellent veterinarian."

"Thank you!" Nepeta grinned, beginning to clean the examination table. "I love working with pets and their owners."

"It's a unique talent. Would you mind filling out an order form for some more of the 50cc syringes once you're done in here?"

"Can do!"

As she rode her bike home that evening, Nepeta couldn't wipe the grin off her face. Her part-time job as a veterinary assistant did so much more than provide her a form of income. There was so much satisfaction to be had from helping animals... Even if she did become a famous author one day, she still wanted to work with them one way or another.

Distracted by her thoughts she didn't see Gamzee until she almost ran him over; with a squeak she swerved her bike to the side at the last minute, tumbling to the ground.

"Woah, woah! Easy, there. You okay, motherfucker?" Gamzee knelt beside her, offering a hand.

"Ah- Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Nepeta stuttered, hesitantly taking the offered hand. Gamzee hauled her to her feet before bending to pick up the bike. "Are you okay?"

"I'm always fine~" He smirked, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "The world is full of miracles, like pretty girls on motherfucking bikes of rainbows."

"..." Unsure what to say, Nepeta offered him a tentative smile. "Well, uhm... Thank you? I think?"

"No, thank you~"

As she rode off, Gamzee's eyes followed her, far sharper than his stoned attitude should allow. Shrugging, he sauntered off to find further miracles while Nepeta did her best to shake off the feeling that she just missed some major plot point in her own story. Locking her bike up, she headed up to the apartment she shared with Terezi, already hating the flights of stairs she had to climb to get there...

_...It seemed to be an infinite set of stairs. Ever since the gates had opened she had been climbing them, at first attempting to count them but quickly losing track. Yet now a strange sense of dread was growing in her gut, a darkness even the glowing sword couldn't chase away. Something was following her on the stairs..._

"Terezi, remind me to tell the super about the hall light being out..." Nepeta froze, staring at the assembled group in their small living room.

Sollux and Kanaya she could deal with. It was Karkat, sitting across from Terezi, that threw her. "Ah... What... What's going on?"

"A fucking history project. Already." Karkat grumbled, chewing on the end of his pencil. "As if anyone cares about some old dead assholes who made other dead assholes more dead..."

"Thank you, Karkat, for that very succinct summary of world events." Kanaya said, giving Nepeta a reassuring smile. "We apologize for invading your home, of course."

"No, no, it's fine." She stammered, waving her hands slightly. "Ah, I'll just go back to my room. I have a writing assignment I need to work on."

"The dishwasher is done, by the way." Terezi called after Nepeta's retreating form, to which she received an acknowledging wave.

Once the door to her room was closed behind her, Nepeta sank to the floor, heart hammering. Karkat. In her house. That was... unexpected. She pressed her forehead to her knees, trying to remember how to breathe. After a while she crawled to her bed, pulling herself up and burying her face into the soft fur of her childhood friend, Pounce. Maybe mature people didn't sleep with white plush cats, but she couldn't bring herself to care at the moment.

There was a soft knock at her door. "Nepeta?"

"Come in, Kanaya." She called, rolling over onto her back to stare at Kanaya upside-down as she entered. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You left in a hurry." The other quirked an eyebrow at Nepeta's odd positioning.

"Yeah. Just had a paper. Have a paper." Nepeta said.

"So I see." Kanaya glanced at the stuffed animal clutched in her arms. "And who is this?"

"Huh? Oh. This is Pounce de Leon." She held him out for Kanaya to see, waving one of the cat's paws in greeting. "You know, like the explorer."

"Very clever." Kanaya smiled. "Well if you need to talk, I'm always available to offer a listening ear."

"Thanks."

Closing the door behind her, Kanaya frowned softly. Poor Nepeta... Her heart was too tender for her own good, especially for a crush on Karkat. Especially considering... well...

* * *

Author's Note: Well, here's the first real chapter! Don't get used to this updating so frequently, just saying, but at the moment I have free time. So. I hope you liked it!

Comment if you read this far! Thanks!


	6. Tennis, Staplers and Rugby

There were very few things that could bring Nepeta's mind fully into the real world, leaving no space for the dream one that protected her psyche. This was one of them.

"So I heard (_hah_) that you ran into (_hnn!_) Gamzee last night?"

"Yeah (_aah!_), so?"

"It's just-"

"Out!"

Nepeta bounced on her heels with a grin, twirling her racket before striking a victory pose. Across the court Equius scowled.

"This ball is too light." He complained, wiping the sweat from his brow. "It flies all over the place!"

"It's because you're using too much strength! You've got to learn to control it. That's kinda the whole point, silly." Nepeta giggled, bending to retrieve the wayward tennis ball. "Tennis is about placing the ball in just the right place at just the right time at just the right speed. Not just hitting it as hard as you can all willy-nilly."

"It's a stupid game." Equius was still scowling even as his friend bounced over to him and gave him a playful pat on the back.

"You're just mad because now you have to buy ice cream." She grinned.

It wasn't until they were sitting on a bench next to the ice cream cart that Equius brought up the topic again.

"Look, Nep. Just... Stay away from Gamzee." He adjusted his sunglasses, raising an eyebrow as she got chocolate syrup on the tip of her nose. "You of all people should know that."

"I know... But, I mean, so far he's been really nice." Nepeta stuck out her tongue, trying to maneuver it to clean her nose. "Creepy and kinda out of it, but nice."

"That doesn't matter. It probably means he's playing some sort of game..." Equius sighed and wiped the chocolate away with a napkin. "You can't trust him."

"...Yeah." She took another lick.

"Nepeta! Holy cow!"

She blinked at the voice, glancing up to see Tavros wheeling over with Vriska close behind. Tavros grinned as he skidded to a stop. "I never could tell under your, uh, hoodie and jeans, but you're, uh, kinda ripped!"

Blushing faintly, Nepeta managed a laugh. It was true; she normally wore baggy clothing to hide the body she felt so uncomfortable about, but in her tank top and shorts there wasn't much to hide. She wasn't muscular, not like Equius, but her body was toned and fit from their almost daily work outs.

"And stacked. What are those, a double D?" Vriska purred, lips curled into a smirk.

Her blush deepening, Nepeta crossed her arms across her chest even though she knew that was just the reaction Vriska wanted. They weren't _that _big, but her slender frame made her chest appear larger.

"Vriska! Be nice!" Tavros reprimanded as he came to his friend's defense. "Nepeta, I think you, uhh, look great!"

"Th-thanks." Nepeta muttered.

Equius frowned at Vriska. "You must be very insecure about your own body to criticize someone else's."

"Does it _look _like I have self esteem issues?" Vriska smirked as she jutted a hip forward and arced her back confidently.

Tavros rolled closer to Nepeta as an argument brewed between their friends, lowering his voice slightly. "Hey. Wanna meet up at the library later and work on that, uhh, assignment?"

Nepeta nodded before turning her attention back to keeping Equius calm; it was a tough job being best friends with someone with a short fuse...

"_Who's there?" She called out, raising her sword in challenge._

"_P-Please. Do not strike me."_

_It was a pathetic creature, a crude facsimile of the human form. Its limbs were too long and its torso emaciated; when it spoke its voice was a long, pained hiss. A clawed hand gripped at its tattered shroud as it crawled forward slightly. "Please..."_

"_What are you?"_

"_I am-"_

"...a stapler."

Wait.

Shaking her head slightly, Nepeta forced herself back to the present which involved no sword or endless stairs. Tavros was frowning down at his assignment sheet, bottom lip caught in his teeth.

"I mean, inanimate objects are inanimate for, uhh, a reason. They don't have feelings or anything. How are we supposed to write, uhh, from their point of view?" He lamented, looking up at Nepeta pleadingly.

"Well..." Professor Lalonde had looked rather mischievous when she gave them the assignment; then again, she had an impish look about her when taking roll call as well. "I think its like... Well, like with a stapler. Every time someone uses it, it gives away a piece of itself which could be sad, but it knows that the piece of itself it gave away is being used to hold something else together. Maybe something important, like a... I don't know, the release statement for an innocent man to get out of prison or something... So the stapler feels this sense of pride, right?..."

She trailed off as she caught Tavros staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing! That's just, uhh... Really good." He grinned. "You're a natural at this!"

"It's nothing special..." But Nepeta couldn't help beaming with pride at the compliment.

"I don't see why you feel like you have to hide it from people..."

"Hide what?"

They both jumped as Eridan rounded the corner of the nearest stack, his arms filled with books of art history. Mentally Nepeta made a note to do the same; Professor Strider had said they had to mimic someone's style in their own drawing for the next class. Apparently Eridan had no idea who he was going to copy either.

"Hide... my love of rugby. It's kind of an odd sport to be a fan of. Being American and all." She bunted, doing her best not to wince. Rugby? Really?

"Huh." Eridan raised an eyebrow. "It's not that weird. I'm a fan myself, you know."

Of course he was. Nepeta could feel her mind scrabbling; what the hell did she know about rugby? Thankfully Eridan didn't seem to be looking for a long conversation.

"We should watch the match on Saturday over at my place. I'll talk to you about it in class, okay?" With that hanging in the air he strode off, leaving Nepeta to thank God and all His angels that he hadn't pressed the subject.

"...Rugby?" Tavros' lips quivered with a repressed laugh.

"Shut up." Nepeta rolled her eyes.

"But really. Why, uh, do you want to keep it a secret so much? I mean, I don't tell people about the playwriting and acting because it's not very, uhh, masculine, but creative writing..."

"...It's a long and kinda silly story." She shrugged. "But thanks for not telling anyone."

"Of course! That's what friends are for! ...Now explain to me the, uhh, stapler again?"

* * *

Author's Note: Man. I can't even tell you how much I love you people for reading this so diligently. It does wonders for my self esteem to know that people are enjoying the crazy ramblings that my mind spews forth. At any rate, just... thanks. All of you. Lots of hearts and puppies and such!


	7. Truth, Water and Notebooks

"_I am Truth. I was cast from the Prince's side along with the others."_

"_...I don't understand."_

"_This castle belongs to a Prince... Did you not know?"_

"_I only knew to come. The sword drew me here."_

_The creature recoiled as she brandished the sword, hissing and hiding its face in the crook of its elbow. "Put that away! I cannot gaze upon it in my current state!"_

"_...Tell me what is happening."_

"_...It is a long tale."_

"_I have time..."_

"Nepeta."

"Huh?"

Equius was watching her with a look of fond frustration over the rim of his cracked sunglasses. Somehow he never managed to own an intact pair.

"Did you hear a word of what I said?" He poked her in the forehead with the butt of his pencil.

"...You were talking about a scrub brush?"

He facepalmed. "No, Nep, no. _Scrum. _That's like the huddle." Upon seeing her blank look. "The huddle. That thing in football when the teams gather to discuss plays?"

"I know what a huddle is." She batted away his prodding pencil.

"You could have fooled me. Now, what's the difference between union and league?"

"...One fought for the North and the other has Batman? ...If you keep hitting your forehead like that you're going to suffer brain damage."

"Look, Nep, why do you want to learn about rugby at all? You're obviously not interested." Equius frowned, removing his glasses to look at her directly. "What's going on with you? You're horrible at team sports."

"I'm horrible at sports in general. I'm just better than you at keeping the ball in between the lines... And controlling my temper. Remember why we don't play pingpong any more?"

"...The balls are too fragile."

"Most people don't _shatter _them. They just leave _dents_."

"...Stop changing the subject." Equius poked her again, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Is it hot in here?"

"No, you just sweat a lot." Nepeta handed him a handkerchief she kept on-hand solely for said purpose. "I just... thought it would be interesting. Eridan invited me over to his place to watch some rugby this weekend..."

"Eridan? No. You shouldn't spend time with him either."

"First Gamzee, then Eridan? What's up with that?"

"They're high bloods, born from money and used to using less the fortunate for their little games..."

"Uh, Equius..." Nepeta raised an eyebrow at her old friend. "You're kinda a blue blood yourself. Your dad..."

"I know." Equius' dad was the head of a robotics company that designed robots to build robots. Needless to say, there was money in that family. "But I'm not like Eridan and I'm certainly not like Gamzee."

"No one is like Gamzee." Nepeta said. "But I already agreed to go to Eridan's place; I can't turn that down..."

"Then I'm going too."

"You weren't invited..." Equius raised an eyebrow to match hers. "Right. See you at seven."

"_Not so long ago these lands were ruled by a fair and just Prince. He governed with a steady hand and appointed counselors to advise him. I was one of them, along with Justice, Mercy and Peace. However one day a stranger came... and the Prince began to change. He cast us, his advisors, from grace to replace us with Relativity, Partiality, Intolerance and..."_

"_...And what?"_

"_...And the worst of them all. War. The kingdom crumbled, yet he turned a blind eye..."_

"_Wait. I thought the Prince was slumbering?"_

"_Not his body; his heart. If we wish to preserve ourselves, we must awaken it..."_

"Oh! Foul!"

Nepeta jumped, heartbeat skittering like a frightened rabbit before she managed to get a grip on herself again. Equius and Eridan were on their feet; Kanaya appeared amused, Feferi and Terezi confused, Vriska smug at Terezi's confusion, Tavros slightly concerned, Gamzee... well, Gamzee and Karkat...

Karkat. What was supposed to be a small gathering somehow turned into this get together with more on the way... And, of course, he had to be here. Nepeta turned her attention back to the very sweaty men on screen, wincing as a few teeth were knocked loose. Why had she said _this _was her favorite sport?

"I'm going to get some water." She murmured to Kanaya, who nodded and squeezed her arm.

Standing with the refrigerator open, relishing the cold air on her face, Nepeta took a deep breath. Since coming to college she had slowly been getting used to big crowds, but in these tight quarters she was beginning to develop claustrophobia...

"What are you looking for?"

She jumped for the second time that night, whipping around to see Eridan looming over her. Granted, everyone loomed over her, but he seemed especially... loomy. Oh, good, she was making up words again, come on, Nepeta, say something!

"W-Water."

Good girl. Not great with that stutter, but otherwise good.

"We normally get that from the tap." Eridan reached over her right shoulder and snagged a glass, moving away to fill it with her requested beverage. "Unless you were looking for ice?"

"Yes! Yeah, ice!" Ha ha! An logical explanation!

"That tends to be in the freezer." Dammit.

"Oh, yeah. Silly me." She took the offered cup from him with a nervous grin, sipping at the water. It tasted like iron- Right, she and Terezi had a filter...

"...You don't really like rugby, do you?" Eridan leaned against the counter, cutting off her route of escape. "Why did you lie?"

"W-What?" She squeaked, nearly dropping the glass. What was it about boys in general that made her so timid? Well, being alone with them, in groups she was... less bad. "I didn't lie! I like rugby..."

"What's the score?" He adjusted his glasses before crossing his arms pensively.

"...Two to one?"

"Right. Not even close."

As was her wont, Nepeta found her mind wandering. There was a silver stud in Eridan's tongue that flashed whenever he talked... That must have hurt. Why would anyone do that? The tongue was a muscle, who thought stabbing something through it was a good idea...

Suddenly Eridan was inches from her face, brown eyes boring into her own. Nepeta froze like a bird before a snake, brain flatlining...

"Hey. Fuckass. Can't you see you're scaring her?"

Karkat stood in the doorway, a black frown on his face. Eridan backed up as a breath of air rushed into Nepeta's lungs that she didn't realize she had been lacking. The other strode forward, somehow managing to seem to fill more of the room than Eridan despite his smaller stature.

"Don't butt in, Vantas..."

"I fucking _will _butt in when you're being an ass, Ampora. Back. Off." Karkat growled.

To Nepeta's amazement, Eridan did as he was told, though there was a scowl on his face that Nepeta hoped would never be aimed at her. Muttering something under his breath, Eridan absconded back to the living room, leaving Karkat and Nepeta alone in the kitchen.

...Which was another nightmare for a totally different reason.

"...You okay?" He glanced over at her, eyes flicking to where her knuckles were white around the glass. "Ampora is a jackass, but he doesn't mean badly. Normally. I have no fucking idea what _that _was about..."

"...I'm fine." She gulped down another lungful of air, trying to keep her cheeks from flushing. Her whole body felt like it was on fire standing this close to him... "I- I think there was a misunderstanding... is all..."

"Next time he gets like that, you've got to straighten your spine and stand up to him." Karkat advised, still watching the doorway warily. "He gets off on feeling powerful. I mean, I guess a lot of people do, but he's not good at fucking reigning it in."

"...Yeah. Thanks." She offered him a tentative smile.

"Whatever. No big deal." Karkat grabbed a new can of soda from the counter. "I just hate bullies."

With that he was gone, leaving Nepeta feeling as if she'd been thrown through a hurricane and back. She grinned happily to herself as she headed back into the crowded room, somehow feeling calmer.

Which she wouldn't have if she had caught Gamzee watching her as she entered, eyes glimmering... and the edge of a very familiar notebook peeking out from the edge of his backpack.

* * *

Author's Note: Hey, look! I think I see a plot! Maybe! Well, with any luck.

I love you guys who keep reading this. Seriously. Just. I can't even tell you with words.


	8. Lost Things, Paintings and Conflict

"_If we are to awaken the Prince, we must gather the other councilors to restore to our rightful places and defeat the impostors currently holding reign. Only then can we clear the way for you to-"_

...Something wasn't right. Nepeta frowned as she turned to look at her messenger bag, slowly withdrawing her hand. The familiar leather spine was missing... Heart catching in her throat, she quickly dumped the contents out onto the library table, ignoring as pencils and various knick-knacks went skittering over the edge.

Where was it? There were her binders and spiral-bound notebooks for class, a few textbooks, that takeout menu for the Thai restaurant down the road... But no small, faux-leather bound notebook with well-worn edges. Forcing herself not to panic, Nepeta squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to remember the last place she had seen the familiar black cover.

...It was no use. She had been so busy with classwork and the vet clinic that it had been an unprecedented week since she actually wrote in the notebook. Everything was a blur...

Within seconds she was running back to her and Terezi's apartment, the flap of her bag whipping as the contents nearly overflowed. Usually so anal about each thing having its place, Nepeta couldn't be bothered to sort things back to normal now...

"Hey, Nep, what's wrong..." Equius blinked as his old friend dashed past without a word, turning to watch her retreating form.

It had to be in her room. It had to be. There was nowhere else it could be! Sure, she took it out in any number of places but it _had _to be in her room! Taking the stairs two at a time she burst into the small apartment, barely registering that Terezi had left her a note on the refrigerator in the Braille alphabet magnets Nepeta had given her as gag gift.

It took less than five minutes for her to ascertain that her room wasn't hiding her precious notebook. Not on the desk, not in any of the drawers, not in her dresser, not under the bed, not between the bed and the wall, not under her pillow... Now she sat with Pounce clutched tightly to her chest, trying to think.

Retrace her steps. Retrace her steps. She buried her nose in Pounce's soft fur as she ran over all the possibilities again. It couldn't be at the clinic; she left her messenger bag by the back door and only took her phone in with her in case of emergencies. It couldn't be at any of the restaurants she had visited, she was paranoid about getting food on the pages after one too many incidents involving Equius and ketchup bottles so she never took it out there... But that still left the whole campus, all of her classrooms, people's houses...

Houses. Eridan. Maybe it fell out the other night at Eridan's place.

Nepeta was on her feet and out the door, leaving Pounce in a rather undignified fashion on her bed with all four of his limbs askew in the air. Despite being in shape, her lungs were already burning when she took a corner too fast and barreled straight into Professor Strider. His trademark angular shades went flying as he and Nepeta tumbled to the ground, picked up by history professor Jake English who he had apparently been walking with.

For the briefest of moments Nepeta was distracted by her professor's strange irised eyes; they were a rich golden-orange bordering on chestnut...

"Sorry, sir!" She rolled out from where she was partially trapped beneath him and kept running, breezing past Professor English who looked decidedly amused.

Handing his friend's glasses back to him, Jake grinned. "Making all the girls fall head over heels for you again, Dirk?"

"Shut up."

It wasn't until she was banging on Eridan's door that she realized she had scraped her knees badly, blood welling up from the scratches to mix with the dirt and grass stains. Ignoring them she continued to hammer on his door, on the verge of screaming his name when the wood yielded to reveal a very confused and very underdressed Eridan. He stared at her sleepily, rubbing his eyes beneath the thick rims of his glasses and scratching his stomach above the waist band of his purple and black boxers. "Wha'?"

"D-D-Did-" Nepeta snarled in frustration at being unable to gasp out the words and simply shoved past him in a rare moment of tunnel-vision fueled aggression.

"H-Hey!" But she was already headed to the living room, nearly tripping over her own feet in an attempt to avoid an open door...

And stopped dead.

There, framed by a set of open windows, was a canvas. The scattered brushes and still drying palette of pastels indicated that Eridan had only recently finished painting... Well, if Nepeta hadn't known better she would have thought he was depicting an angel with those broad yet delicate strokes. Instead it was Feferi caught mid laugh, her face glowing with joy as her eyes sparkled in a stray sunbeam...

It most certainly was not something a man painted when he wasn't madly in love with the subject depicted.

Eridan slammed the door shut, his face contorted in sleepy embarrassment and anger. "What are you even doing here, Nepeta?" He blinked. "Wait, are you bleeding?"

Snapped out of her shock, Nepeta ignored him and continued to the living room, scouring every inch. It was only when she was checking under the couch for the fifth time that she managed to realize the notebook really wasn't there. Frustrated to the point of tears she looked up to see Eridan watching her, having now donned a t-shirt with some obscure indie band advertised on the front in faded letters.

"Care to tell me what's going on now?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"The other night when we were here watching rubgy-"

"When you were pretending to watch rugby."

"-_shut up _did you find a small black notebook? Leather bound, well it's fake leather, but it has a bookmark with paw prints on it..." She could tell from his blank look that he had no idea what she was talking about. Stumbling to her feet she scrubbed at her watering eyes with the heels of her hands, trying to think. Maybe... Maybe it was in a classroom... But then someone could have picked it up and could be reading it and...

Suddenly there was an comforting hand on her shoulder. Through a growing haze of tears she saw Eridan looking down at her with a worried yet tender expression. Nepeta hadn't known he was even capable of forming his features into such a caring array.

"This notebook... It's pretty important, huh?" He handed her a tissue.

"Y-Yeah..." She blew her nose, trying not to start shaking. "It... It's..."

"Have you checked all the classrooms yet?"

She stared at him.

"What?"

"Have you looked in all the classrooms you took it to yet?" He repeated in an astonishingly sweet voice.

"N-No..."

"Then I'll go and look there while you check the library, okay?" Eridan was already headed back to his room to pull on his pants.

"...Why are you doing this?" Nepeta's gaze bored holes in his back.

"..." He paused and rubbed the back of his neck. "...Karkat yelled at me the other night... And... I'm sorry I scared you like that. I feel bad, so... Let me help, okay?"

"...O-kay..." Deciding that figuring all that out would have to wait for another time, Nepeta quickly gave him a list of her classes before rushing out the door again.

On the way to the library she passed Professors Strider and English, standing in pretty much the same place she had left them. This time, Dirk stuck out an arm to block her path. "Woah, easy there. What's going on?"

"I... I lost something..." She wasn't able to form a coherent thought or wonder why a professor would care. "I'm sorry, I can't talk I have to check the library!"

"Let her go, Dirk, she's on an epic adventure, obviously." Jake grinned at Nepeta, eyes lighting up on the word "adventure".

"..." Professor Strider retracted his arm, adding only. "If you ever need to talk..." But his student was long gone.

_With Truth by her side, sword drawn and held high she reached the top of the stairs..._

"Lost something?"

Nepeta froze. Gamzee was lounging next to one of the large stone lions who stood guard outside the library, a very familiar book casually draped over one knee... As if he had been reading it.

For a second Nepeta couldn't think or breathe... Then she was on him, grabbing a fistful of his hoodie and snarling. "_How dare you-!_"

"Woah, woah, motherfucker." Gamzee held up his hands in submission, that lazy grin never leaving his face. "Look at kitten with her claws out... You're just full of surprises, huh?"

Seething with rage, Nepeta grabbed for her notebook only to have it snatched out of reach by Gamzee's free hand. The other covered her own gripping his shirt, squeezing almost painfully.

"Easy, little motherfucker. Way I see it, I have something you want... And you want it pretty fucking bad. So what are you going to give me for it?" His grin remained the same yet there was none of the warmth usually associated with upward curved lips.

"W-What?" She glared at him, feeling her rage turning cold and settling into a stone at the pit of her stomach. "What are you talking about? That's mine, you stole it!"

"Woah, that's quite the fucking accusation. I found this on the ground after a miracle girl on a bike of rainbows ran me down." Gamzee protested cooly.

"Why didn't you give it back?" She tried to pull her hand back, but he had her in a vice-like grip.

"Because. What's life without a little..." He leaned in, grin slipping momentarily. "...conflict?"

"..." Nepeta pulled again and this time Gamzee let go. He placed the familiar spine in her hand, his mask back in place as if it had never slipped.

"See you around, hm?" He strode off, hands shoved deep into his hoodie pocket.

Stunned, she stood for a long moment, notebook held tight to her chest. Finally she decided that she was too tired to figure anything out; if something sinister was afoot, it would still have feet in the morning. Or something. The events of the day had left her drained emotionally and physically; all Nepeta wanted to do was curl up with Pounce and sleep for a few years.

Trudging back to her apartment, she got the distinct feeling she was forgetting something... Oh, right. Eridan... As bad as it sounded, she couldn't muster the energy to seek him out and tell him everything was okay. It seemed to be taking every ounce of strength she had just to climb the stairs, to insert her key in the lock...

...The door wasn't locked. That was weird. Pushing the door open with her shoulder, Nepeta felt her heart stop for the umpteenth time that day. Before her mind could process the image her eyes were conveying she was running again. Running running running running running-

-Karkat's lips pressed to Terezi's, her own moist from past kisses-

-_Hulking beasts rose from the mire, unseeing red eyes spilling tears of blood_-

-his hand on her breast, her fingers tangled in his hair-

-_as with one voice they roared in agony, lashing out at her_-

-Terezi on his lap-

-_she fell backwards, crying out_-

-running running running running running until

she

felt

nothing.

* * *

Author's Note: ...Yeah. Uhm. Whee, character development?

Poor Nepeta. I hate that I have to put her through all this, but... Well, you know. The best growth comes through pain. Please give her lots of mental hugs for suffering through a writer like me!

As always, thanks for reading!


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